I Shall Devour Everything

Red symbols and letters began to appear beside his name, which read,

Age: 16, Qualified for participation

Defity: Prana Binding Stage, 10th Cycle

"Wow...how did it come up on its own?" Arion mumbled. He never thought that a simple red ink could have such mystical properties when connected with prana.

The assistant answered, "What you immersed your thumb into was the blood taken from the pranic heart of a Nighthorse. And this blood has the special property of perfectly mixing with our prana. Thus we can use it to not only verify your age but also know your Defity. And here's your participation badge, which you should show before the test begins next year."

Arion took the badge that looked the same as the emblem of the Order of Dreadslayers and pocketed it.

He appreciated that the lady was kind enough to explain it to him, and at the same time, he was amazed that one could use the blood of beasts to do such small yet amazing things.

He had heard of Nighthorses as they were pranic creatures that most people used as a transport or for riding. But they were only owned by the rich people since these horses were expensive because of how fast they were.

However, he didn't know that their blood could be used in such a way.

"Hey, how long are you going to stand in my way? I don't have all day, you know."

Arion pushed away his thoughts when he heard the peeved voice of Shun and saw him wiggling his way through by pushing him aside.

"Pfft...what an annoying ducky…" Arion muttered as he stood aside.

Shun's brows wrinkled hearing Arion call him 'ducky' again and glared at him, but then he harrumphed as he immersed his thumb in the glass of blood.

Arion's brows pulled together as he leaned in to see what Shun's real age and Defity was since he knew better than to believe whatever was coming out from his mouth.

He felt that this Shun was an expert in sheep's clothing and was probably an old monster hiding in a kid's clothing.

However, as the red letters began to appear, Arion's eyes couldn't become any wider as he read the letters,

Age: 16, Qualified for participation

Defity: Prana Binding Stage, 10th Cycle

"Whew! Now that's done. I feel like my heart might explode any minute now that I signed up for the most dangerous test in the world. Anyway, we both are starting off on the same line. So want to bet who is going to come out with flying colors?" Shun asked with a bright smile.

"Bullshit…" Arion mumbled as he ignored Shun's blabber and read those red letters and symbols again and again till he unconsciously by hearted them.

"Bullshit? What the hell are you mumbling?" Shun asked with crossed arms.

Mei also had a light of surprise in her eyes as she glanced at the book before glancing at Shun.

But then she nodded to herself as if things made sense even though some facts still surprised her.

However, even though he could swallow the fact that Shun was the same age as him, how could he believe that this sly guy's Defity was the same as him as well?

And seeing the big smile on his face, it seemed as if he was trolling him.

"Mei, can you believe this? Isn't he a Defier already?" Arion asked on the spot since he knew asking Shun was the same as talking to the wall.

Arion remembered Mei mentioning that he should be a Defier when he first asked her to help him.

He clearly remembered her saying that he was able to survive such a fall due to him being a Defier.

Mei had a glazed expression as she answered, "I know. Actually, that day I sensed that his Defity was the same as what's written there through his pranic pulse. So I was surprised and felt that maybe I guessed wrong before, or probably he might not have fallen from such a high height. Since he is already in the 10th cycle, his body should be way tougher than a normal human being."

"What the…" Arion couldn't believe it and then asked himself if he could also survive falling from such a height even with his current Defity. But that was a question he didn't dare to find the answer to.

'Was I overthinking stuff then?...No...it can't be…' Arion still felt that something was up with Shun, especially after observing the way he talks and acts as if he can't be fazed by anything.

The assistant was wondering why Arion seemed to be so worked up about his friend having the same Defity as him. In her perspective, she found it completely normal for a 16-year-old to be in the 10th Cycle of the Prana Binding Stage.

Arion turned around and asked just to be sure, "Does this blood always work? Like if it can make mistakes in reading one's prana or something?"

The assistant felt that this boy was quite weird but still answered, "Of course, not. Prana never lies, no matter wherever it is present."

Arion could only shut his mouth now that he had nothing more to ask. He felt that maybe he might have exaggerated things in his mind because of his past experiences, especially when Mei confirmed as well.

Still, he decided not to ever let his guard down near Shun.

"Seriously, can't you digest the fact that I am as strong as you? You are as jealous as a cat, hmph," Shun said as he combed his hair through.

"Whatever. Let's go, Sister Mei," Arion shook his head as he thanked the assistant before walking away.

The assistant also thanked him and then gave a slight bow to Mei as well out of respect for her since it seemed as if Mei was her idol and indeed heads were turning as people noticed Mei, although most tried to hide their glances the best they could.

Arion saw many youngsters coming his way and could guess that they were here to register for the Ironheart test as well.

He already knew this year's test was already over, and the registrations for next year's test had started recently.

'Thankfully, Mei made me come early,' Arion thought in relief. But as his eyes wandered around, he slowed down his steps when he noticed a few familiar faces standing in the corner of the building.

Of course, among them, the face he was most familiar with was the boy who had a lock of hair dangling over his forehead in a weird way, and this boy was none other than Marcos, who used to bully him during his days as a disabled one, especially whenever he visited the Central Ward to use the Golden Monolith.

Thinking back to the memories where he was ganged upon and bashed all over, especially sustaining bruises all over his chest, legs, and arms, and then treated like a dirty worm when they stepped over him; he suddenly felt his blood boiling over, not knowing where this sudden rage was coming from within.

It was as if he couldn't digest the fact that in the past, these people treated him like trash, and seeing their faces now only seemed to aggravate this feeling though he never felt such feverish rage before, even when he saw them before.

He could feel his entire body heating up as if his blood was burning with anger while unconsciously flexing his fingers as he tightened his fists.

'Make them pay…I should...make them pay...' This thought kept repeating in his head like a tape recorder...as if he wouldn't be able to sleep till he punished those who did him wrong.

He then shook his head when he realized that he was getting far too worked up but then again, when he looked at Marcos laughing and talking with his friends without a care in the world, it made Arion think again, 'Maybe he indeed deserves it...it's not like anyone is going to know…'

A dangerous glint flashed past Arion's eyes as he looked at Mei with a smile and asked, "Sister Mei, can you wait till I come back from the bathroom? I feel like I drank too much water yesterday."

Shun rolled his eyes, "Seriously, what are you, 5? As a grown-up, shouldn't you be able to control your—"

"Oh, just shut up. You can go if you want. I was talking to her."

Mei chuckled at these two getting into a banter for the millionth time, and said, "Of course. Take your time. We will wait in that restaurant there." Mei pointed to a small restaurant in the same street.

"Sure," Arion happily said as he turned around and walked away at a slightly fast pace.

However, Shun looked in his direction as his brows pulled together, feeling that something was up with him.